The dance world lost one of its icons, dancer, choreographer and activist Eleo Pomare, on Aug. 8, 2008 to cancer. He was 70 years old. Pomare’s works were often fueled by social protest about the human condition and the plight of Blacks in particular. He shocked audiences in the 1960s with such works as his solo “Narcissus Rising” (1968), “Las Desenamoradas” (1967), “Blues For the Jungle” (1966) and “Missa Luba” (1965). To celebrate Pomare’s legacy, the Eleo Pomare Dance Company will mount an exhibit titled “Eleo Pomare: The Man, the Artist, the Maker of Artists, 1937-2008,” curated by Andi Owens, director of the Genesis II Museum of International Black Culture. An opening is slated for Feb. 11 at the Lorraine Monroe Leadership Institute. The exhibit will run until Feb. 17. For more information, contact Judith Mutunga at (212) 531-0515 or jmutunga@lmli.org.
Not to be missed is the return of Ronald K. Brown’s Evidence, a Dance Company, to the Joyce Theater, celebrating their 25th anniversary on Feb. 8-13 with two programs. Program A will feature “Ife My Heart,” “For You,” “Lessons,” “Exotica” and “To Harm the Dangerous” plus the premiere of “On Earth Together,” set to music by Stevie Wonder. Program B offers “Water,” “High Life” and “Grace.” “Ronald K. Brown creates dances so kinetically irresistible that it’s hard not to squirm in your seat, to nod the chin and cock the shoulders up and down, tapping along to the beat,” asserts The Boston Globe. Brown’s signature works combine Cuban, Caribbean, West African and modern American dance forms. For more information, call (212) 691-9740 or visit www.joyce.org.
STILL RUNNING:
Jan. 28-29–Souleymane Badolo completes a 100-hour creative residency as a part of Dance Theater Workshop’s Studio Series, with two work-in-process showings of Badolo’s “Solo/Basic,”a study in how NOT to go so low or too deep (with changes in direction), built on an investigation with choreographer Reggie Wilson. For more information, call (212) 924-0077 or visit www.dancetheaterworkshop.org.
Jan. 26-30–Ralph Lemon and Okwui Okpokwasili in “Untitled” (2008) as part of the MoMA exhibition “On Line: Drawing Through the Twentieth Century.” For more information call (212) 708-9400 or visit www.moma.org.
ALSO THIS MONTH:
Feb. 3-5–At Danspace Project, as part of the “Platform 2011: Body Madness” series, see voguers Benny Ninja and Javier Ninja (from the Legendary House of Ninja), Cori Olinghouse and special surprise guest VOIX DE VILLE. For more information, call (212) 674-8112 or visit www.danspaceproject.org.
Feb. 4–As part of the 92nd St. Y’s “Fridays at Noon” series, Mariangela Lopez and her company, Mariangela Lopez: Dance For The People, will present “Accidental Movement Stage Accidental #5,” in a shared program with Tina Croll. For more information, call (212) 415-5500 or visit www.92Y.org.
Feb. 10-20–Montclair State College’s Peak Performances at the Kasser Theater brings South Africa’s City Theatre & Dance Group/Robyn Orlin with “Walking next to our shoes…intoxicated by strawberries and cream, we enter continents without knocking…” “Walking next to our shoes…” (a Zulu expression meaning “being poor”) combines traditional elements with beguiling stagecraft. For more information, call (973) 655-5112 or visit www.peakperfs.org.
Feb. 11-12–Wendell Cooper as part of DTW’s informal Studio Series. For more information, call (212) 691-6500 or visit www.dancetheterworkshop.org.
Feb. 11-12–At Joe’s Pub, DanceNOW [NYC] presents Kyle Abraham and friends in “Heartbreak and Homies,” a Valentine’s show curated by Abraham and guest artists David Dorfman, Faye Driscoll, and Alex Escalante. For more information, call (212) 967-7555 or visit www.joespub.com.
Feb. 16-20–At New York City Center, “Flamenco Hoy,” directed by Carlos Saura and choreographed by Rafael Estevez and Nani Panos, with musical direction by Chano Dominguez. For more information, call (212) 581-1212 or visit www.NYCityCenter.org.
Feb. 19–NJPAC’s “Alternate Routes” series, “Legacies & Legends” brings 2010 Kennedy Center Honors recipient and two-time Tony Award-winner, most recently for his Broadway hit “FELA!,” Bill T. Jones. For more information, call (888) GO-NJPAC or visit www.njpac.org.
Feb. 24–At Town Hall, Paco Pena Flamenco Dance Company with a new production of “Flamenco Vivo.” For more information, call (212) 307-4100 or visit www.worldmusicinstitute.org.
Feb. 26–At Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, Argentina’s Tango Buenos Aires will present “Fuego Tango y Pasion” (The Fire and Passion of Tango). For more information call (718) 951-4500 or visit www.BrooklynCenterOnline.org.
Feb. 27–Tango Buenos Aires takes “Fuego Tango y Pasion” (The Fire and Passion of Tango) to the Lehman Center in the Bronx. For more information, call 718-960-8833 or visit www.lehmancenter.org.
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